Synthetic hydrocarbon lubricants are known in the art. For example, polyalphaolefins (PAO's) are made by oligomerizing C.sub.6 to C.sub.20 .alpha.-olefins. These oligomer fluids are usually hydrogenated to improve their stability to oxidation. The residual internal double bond in each molecule can also be functionalized to form, for example, alkyl phenols, carboxylic acids and esters, alcohols, mercaptans, aldehydes, sulfonates and the like. However, the hindered nature of the double bond can make functionalization difficult, especially with higher oligomers. Also, because only one double bond is available, the ability to form multifunctional molecules is limited.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,306,856 granted Apr. 26, 1994 to Streck et al. describes a method of manufacturing methylidene-group-containing .alpha.,.omega.-unsaturated oligomers from .alpha.,.omega.-diolefins in the presence of organoaluminum compounds as catalysts. The reaction is performed at 150.degree.-350.degree. C. The products of the reaction are identified by the formula: ##STR1## where R and R' each independently represent hydrogen or an alkyl, aryl, aralkyl or cycloalkyl group; x is 1 or a number between 3 and 25; y=x or x+2; n is a number between 1 and 99; and EQU .SIGMA. C.sub.k =(x+4)(n+2)-(n+1)
is the expression for the sum of the C-atoms in the chain.